A GANG of masked robbers targeted wealthy customers of top restaurants after following them home, a court heard yesterday.

Among the alleged victims was Sir Nigel Rudd, millionaire chairman of the British Airports Authority.

The jury heard how the robbers tailed Sir Nigel, 63. and his wife Lesley, 64, to their £7million home in central London.

Lady Rudd was pinned to the floor and stripped of her valuables, while her husband was held at knifepoint and ordered to open an upstairs safe, Southwark Crown Court was told.

With a haul of jewellery worth around £84,000, the gang then allegedly got into a waiting silver BMW and sped away from the property in the exclusive Belgravia area.

Sir Nigel is one of the UK’s most respected businessmen and a former chairman of glass firm Pilkington, Alliance Boots and the Pendragon car dealership.

They got to their house at about 11.27pm. Sir Nigel stopped outside and allowed his wife to open the door to their home

Prosecutor Kenneth Millett

The jury heard that the attack was one of a spate of four in the same area in May last year.

The accused – Gulam Gani, 47, Nicholas Lewis, 34, and Shaun Wallace, 30 – allegedly carried out three other “strikingly similar” attacks after following their victims from restaurants in Chelsea and the West End.

Prosecutor Kenneth Millett said that Sir Nigel and his wife were attacked on May 23 last year.

He said: “They got to their house at about 11.27pm. Sir Nigel stopped outside and allowed his wife to open the door to their home.

“As they entered the house and just as she was about to close the door behind them, the door was suddenly pushed open and very violently.

“She looked up to see what she believed was a masked man standing above her who then put his knees on her chest. He then pulled at her fingers on her left hand trying to get her rings off.”

The robber also forcibly removed Lady Rudd’s necklace, bracelet and a Cartier watch, Mr Millett said. When Lady Rudd noticed one attacker holding a knife to her husband’s chest, she told them the safe was upstairs.

But they found it empty and made off in the getaway car with the jewellery.

The jury heard the gang took goods worth a total of £83,000 in the other three attacks. Police later set up a surveillance operation.